Tobacco.org

• Judge allows tobacco case to proceed  

A lawsuit challenging claims by tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds that its Eclipse cigarette is healthier to smoke than the average cigarette can go forward, a Vermont judge has ruled.

Chittenden Superior Court Judge Dennis Pearson, in an 18-page ruling, denied R.J. Reynolds' request to dismiss outright the case filed by the Vermont Attorney General's Office on behalf of Vermont and 35 other states.

"The state is generally entitled to present its case on the evidence ... with regard to the existence (or not) of reasonable substantiation supporting R.J Reynolds's health claims regarding Eclipse," Pearson wrote in his Aug. 19 decision.

Pearson also rejected all but one of nine other pre-trial motions filed by R.J. Reynolds regarding what evidence and witnesses could be used at the trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 5.

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This case is novel because no one has ever said how much scientific evidence is needed to prove a reduced risk to human health.
VT assistant attorney general Julie Brill, on the state's challenge to RJR's Eclipse ad claims.

• Star Scientific Surges After Reynolds Suit Is Revived (Update2)  

Star Scientific Inc. rose the most in seven years after a U.S. appeals court revived the company's patent lawsuit against Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco over a formula for reducing carcinogens in tobacco.

Star climbed $1.09, or 65 percent, to $2.76 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, valuing the Petersburg, Virginia-based company at $254 million. The gain was the biggest since April 2001 and the closing price was the highest since Jan. 18, 2007. More than 7.25 million shares changed hands, 20 times the three-month daily average.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled today that a judge was wrong to find two Star patents unenforceable and invalid, saying the decision was ``based on factual findings that we deem clearly erroneous.'' The panel sent the case back for review to determine whether the patents are infringed or invalid on other grounds.

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• Brewery to allow black and blue e-cigarettes  

SMOKERS will be allowed to use a new black and blue electronic cigarette on Heron and Brearley premises.

The e-cigarette, a white battery-operated tobacco-free cigarette which produces steam vapour instead of smoke and glows red at the tip when inhaled, has been promoted as a legal way to side-step the new smoking ban.

But earlier this month the largest brewery in the Island decided to ban these look-a-like cigarettes from their premises for fear they would spark conflict and confusion.

As a result of the decision, Jason Cropper, a director of The Electronic Cigarette Company UK Ltd, said: 'We have now looked at manufacturing different colours and already have a pink version available.

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• Cyber-Smoke: The Emergence of the E-Cigarette as an Alternative 

This week's cover story addresses the skyrocketing price of cigarettes in New York and some of the ways people are coping. The hideous and disturbing anti-smoking commercials and billboards, together with the indoor smoking ban has sent smokers running for a variety of smoking alternatives, both to side-step legislation and make somewhat healthier choices.

Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention, and once again technology now offers options that were unthinkable as recently as a decade ago. Mechatronics, the combination of mechanical, electronic and software engineering has produced an advanced hybrid system: the electronic cigarette, aka the e-cig. An international subculture has emerged around e-cigs, though patents are still pending worldwide for the products, are produced and distributed primarily from China. Sidestepping cigarettes by pursuing international loopholes through the Internet, most e-cigs are bought online, breeding wealth of online forums where users compare products and share tips on cleaning, tricks and troubleshooting. . . .

The e-cig can be smoked inside, technically, as it is not a tobacco cigarette and the emitted smoke is harmless and odorless. However, its ambiguous status forces users to have to maneuver carefully. A handful of EU nations have stipulations about their legality, Austria deeming it a medical device, the UK allowing them inside and sold at a celebrity nightclub, Chinawhite, and the Netherlands allowing their use but forbidding advertising until the EU makes a legal stand. They have been accepted in the US, several e-cig smokers reporting that after explaining to their bosses and HR, they have enjoyed smoking at their desks at work. All e-cigs seem to be imported, but the US seems not to have taken a legal stand as yet.

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State battles tobacco giant over 'safe' cigarettes  

The fight this time: whether R.J. Reynolds Co. can back up marketing claims about its Eclipse cigarette, which it says is safer than the average smoke and "may produce less risk of cancer."

The case, unfolding at Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington, pits the Vermont Attorney General's Office against the tobacco giant. The Vermont litigation is being watched and supported by 36 states.

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H.R.1108: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Reported in House)  

`(a) In General- No person may introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce any modified risk tobacco product unless an order issued pursuant to subsection (g) is effective with respect to such product.

`(b) Definitions- In this section:

`(1) MODIFIED RISK TOBACCO PRODUCT- The term `modified risk tobacco product' means any tobacco product that is sold or distributed for use to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco -related disease associated with commercially marketed tobacco products.

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• State sues over cigarette claims  

The fight this time: whether R.J. Reynolds Co. can back up marketing claims about its Eclipse cigarette, which it says is safer than the average smoke and "may produce less risk of cancer."

The case, unfolding at Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington, pits the Vermont Attorney General's Office against the tobacco giant. The Vermont litigation is being watched and supported by 36 states.

No financial damages are being sought. Instead, Vermont is alleging the claims about Eclipse are not supported by scientific evidence and is asking for an injunction to put a stop to the advertising campaign.

According to R.J Reynolds, the Eclipse advertising claims are true and Vermont is out of line for trying to use its consumer fraud act to take on a battle that ought to be addressed under the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act.

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The best choice for smokers who worry about their health is to quit. Eclipse is the next best choice.
RJR's Eclipse claims are under attack by VT's AG.

• Nicotine Water Reappears As 'Smoking Alternative' 

After being removed from the market by the FDA in 2002 . . .

"Nicotine Water" maker Global Beverage Innovations says the product now meets the FDA requirement that it be reformulated as a dietary supplement. The company Monday announced two versions of "Nicotine Water" that are equivalent to three cigarettes. One includes tabacco along with nicotine while the other has 84 percent less nicotine.

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Imperial Tobacco Canada responds to new tobacco surtax 

Imperial Tobacco Canada believes that certain provisions of the federal government's Bill C-50, which include the application of a surtax on "manufactured tobacco" sold in quantities equal to or lower than 50 grams, will ultimately impede the introduction of new smokeless tobacco products with potentially lower health risks such as Swedish style snus.

"While we acknowledge that there is no safe tobacco product, we believe that adult Canadian smokers deserve to have product options that represent potentially lower health risks than smoking, and we believe that the tobacco industry should be encouraged, not discouraged, to bring these products to the Canadian market," said Benjamin Kemball, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. "When certain provisions of the bill come into force next week the price of snus will increase to such a degree that smokers might not consider them a viable option."

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• Philip Morris pulls carbon-filtered brand 

Philip Morris USA has ended its three-year test market of a specially filtered cigarette, underscoring the difficulties that cigarette makers face in winning consumers to unconventional smokes.

But it likely won't be Philip Morris USA's last attempt to offer smokers a new product, as the company battles for a larger share of an ever-shrinking domestic cigarette market.

The Henrico County-based tobacco company said yesterday that it has stopped shipping Marlboro UltraSmooth to stores in Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Tampa, Fla., where the carbon-filtered cigarette has been sold since 2005. . . .

Carbon filters have been used on some cigarettes to potentially reduce some of the toxins in smoke, but health experts are skeptical of the benefits to smokers. Philip Morris USA did not claim that Marlboro UltraSmooth was a reduced-risk product, but the company's research has focused on that area for years.

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• Altria Drops New Filter Cigarettes, In Strategy Setback ($$) 

The nation's largest cigarette maker, Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA, has failed in yet another attempt to sell Americans on a potentially safer cigarette, pulling the plug on Marlboro Ultra Smooth, a version of Marlboro that used a high-technology filter.

The product failure highlights the U.S. cigarette giant's challenges in finding a source of growth to offset a worsening decline in U.S. cigarette sales. In the past, Altria could offset revenue decreases in the U.S. business with growth overseas, but Altria recently spun off its Philip Morris International operations. . . .

Marlboro Ultra Smooth, which had been sold in Atlanta, Tampa, Fla., and Salt Lake City for more than three years, drew little attention from consumers. Philip Morris USA, which had hoped to market the cigarette as a reduced-risk smoke, stopped making new shipments to its wholesalers April 1. Remaining stock is still on sale. Its other cigarettes with the new activated-carbon filters -- the Marlboro Ultra Lights in Phoenix and North Dakota, and Basic Ultra Lights in Washington state -- also were just discontinued, the company said.

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• Smokes On a Plane: NJOY Electronic Cigarettes  

The NJOY is a simulated cigarette which should cut the risk of cancer and even let you smoke on a plane.

I can smoke this anywhere. On an airplane, at the CES show, and in gub'mint buildings.

In theory, that is. In a world where airplane attendants don't know what your phone's flight mode is, don't expect to be able to puff away without some hassles. In fact, good luck getting a small container of liquid and a heating device onto the plane in the first place.

• Fake cigarette is put to the test around Glasgow  

IT'S the answer to smokers' prayers - an £89 electronic cigarette that lets them puff in public legally.

The SuperSmoker certainly looks like a real fag and its makers claim it also tastes and smokes like the real thing, too.

It gives users a hit of nicotine and can be "smoked" anywhere as nothing is actually lit.

That means there is no harmful smoke. Nor does it give users a dose of tar. But the fake ciggie - endorsed by Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman - glows at its tip and produces a puff of steam vapour that disappears without a trace. . . .

If you are challenged by the publican, you can show them the accompanying "passport" that proves it is not real smoke.

Heather Greenaway asked law student Tierney Gallagher, 20, of Glasgow, to road-test the gizmo out and about in the city. . . .

"I did feel really bad, though, when a mother asked me to stop smoking near her child.

"It just shows you how strictly the ban is being enforced everywhere.

"There was not one shopper who did not look at me in horror."

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• New way to crush a cigarette  

A tiny blue capsule is the key element in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s latest attempt to woo smokers.

The capsule is embedded into the filter of a regular Camel Lights cigarette.

When smokers squeeze and snap the capsule, it releases menthol to change the flavor. The cigarette -- packaged in a sleek black and blue box and called Camel Crush -- is being test-marketed at North Carolina Quality Mart convenience stores, and, beginning this month, in Pennsylvania.

"We're giving the adult smoker the ability to savor two distinct flavors with Camel Crush and customize the experience," said Brian Stebbins, the senior business-unit director for Camel. "They can crush it a little and get a slight flavor over the length of the smoke. They can crush it completely and get a fresh menthol blast." . . .

the capsule also has become the latest target of anti-smoking groups, which claim that product innovations such as Camel Crush and the marketing of cigarettes are geared toward attracting young consumers.

"Tobacco companies have carefully designed their products to attract new users, almost all of whom are children," said The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in a February report titled "Big Tobacco's Guinea Pigs."

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Ruyan America's Electronic Smoking Substitutes Win Two Awards at 2008 Tobacco Plus Expo Held in Las Vegas 

Ruyan America, Inc., Minneapolis, announced today that its products won two of the six awards presented at the 2008 Tobacco Plus Expo held at the Las Vegas Convention Center April 24th and 25th. The Company's E-cigarette was named 2008 Most Innovative Product and its Ruyan Vegas E-cigar was named Most Marketable New Product of the Year.

Both products are cigarette alternatives/smoking substitutes that allow users to satisfy their cravings for nicotine in places and situations where they otherwise cannot smoke. The Ruyan E-cigarette and the Ruyan Vegas E-cigar use ultrasonic atomization technology to create nicotine infused water vapor that users draw as if it were smoke. Additionally, the products allow users to effectively simulate the physiological and psychological attributes of smoking without creating any harmful second hand smoke.

Donald J. Bores, Chairman of Tobacco Outlet Business magazine, one of the Expo's sponsors, stated, "The Ruyan products represent a great opportunity for tobacco retailers to expand their product offerings, provide their customers with convenient smoking alternatives and allow them to choose when and where they are able to satisfy their desire to smoke

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